Improvement in iron bridges



w. B; COOPER.

- Iron Bridg'e's.

No. 135,970, Patentedfeb.is,l1s7s.

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braces in dotted lines.

PATENT OFFICE. N

WILLIAM E. coorEn, or ALBANY, NEW vonk.

IMPROVEMENT IN IRON BRIDGES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 135,970, dated February 18, 1873.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. GooPER, of Albany, in the county of Albany and State of New York, have invented a new and useful -can be transported and put in place without diiiculty, and so that the parts can be put together and adjusted without previous boring or iitting. My invention consists in the improvement'of sectional bridges, as hereinafter described and claimed.

Figure lis a perspective View of alongitudinal section of the connecting-blqck, showing the arrangement of the vertical and diagonal Fig. 2 is a top view, partly in section; Fig. 3 is an endyiew; and Fig. et is a section of the side of the bridge, showing the parts in plan.

Similar letters cf reference indicate corresponding parts.

A is the arch-tube. B is the connecting block or section, which constitutes my invention. C represents the braces.

The arches of thisdescription of bridgev have usually been made ofwrought-iron tubes riveted together so as to form a vcontinuous tube from one abutment to the other. Such an archjit is extremely ditlicult to construct, transof the shell is a circular flange, E, a semicrcular half being cast upon each half of the shell, which flanges enter the ends of the sections of the arch. The ends of those sections or tubes consequently bear against the ends of the shell or block, and the ends'of both are beveled with reference to the curve of the arch.

This connecting` block or section might be cast in a single piece; but, in that ease, the tubes could not be 'properlylitted without more or less boring and tuining; VI therefore make the connection in two` pieces, as before stated, and when the connection ismade and the parts put in place I expand or separate the parts by means of one or more keys, F, a groove, G, being cast in each of the parts to receive the keys, as represented in the drawing. The

`flanges E are thus made to bear against the insides of the tubes and make theconnection rm and rigid.

ycircular tenons of the joint; I also get an arch more nearly approaching a rigid arch, thus obtaining a much stronger bridge with the same iron.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patlent- 1. The two-part shell B divided longitudinally and vertically, as and for the purpose described.

2. The key Fcombined with a shell, B, haw ing the groove G and flanges E, as and for the purpose described.

Y WILLIAM B. COOPER.

Witnesses:

W. W. JEROME,

J. L. WooDIN, Jr. 

